Most of us have made unwise furniture purchases that a bit of planning would have prevented. Before shopping, evaluate your budget, how you’ll use the furniture, how it fits in with your other furniture and tastes, and other considerations.

In our surveys of area consumers who have used electricians, too many comments include the words “incompetent,” “no-show,” “overcharged,” and “unresponsive.” Although our ratings reveal outfits to avoid, they also identify several you can count on.

Our undercover shoppers found they could save big by shopping around for common computer upgrade jobs and repair work. Our ratings of computer repair shops for price will help you identify low-price, high-quality help.